Page 45 of Damaged Hearts

She flashes me a big smile, almost a guilty grin. Is that an admission that my fears hold water or am I looking too far into it?

"I dated Donatello Scarfoni. Did you think that wouldn't be on the list?"

The biggest argument Gillian and Mom ever got in was when Gillian told her about the mobster she started dating. I was even stunned. Gillian knew Donatello was a dangerous man, and I think a part of her loved that about him.

The danger.

"Did you say Scarfoni?" Xander asks, his face going blank.

Everyone knows who the Scarfoni family is. The name ignites fear in everyone who hears it. The Scarfoni family is one organization no one wants to mess with.

Gillian showed me a picture of him once. She thought he was the panty-dropping type of handsome. I beg to differ. We may share the same DNA, but my sister and I couldn't be more different.

"Donatello's uncle is the head of the Scarfoni crime family," I explain, before taking a sip of Xander's beer. I hand the can back over to him.

Gillian nods with a proud smile on her face. "Uncle Tony’s favorite nephew. At least I thought he was, until Tony decided to expand to Houston and send the guy I’d been dating for two years down there, knowing full well that I would never go with him. Tony knew I wouldn't leave California and he never liked me much."

I know this is a huge veer off topic, but I can't help asking, "How did Donatello take it?"

My sister is a very head strong, independent woman. He knew this going into it. There's very little he could do to change her mind about going. I can't help thinking a change of scenery would be good for Gillian.

She huffs as she pulls out another joint from her pocket. "He's Donatello Scarfoni. No one saysnoto him. I've been sleeping in my car and got a job with Door Dash. His sister called me and told me he has all his guys out looking for me."

I don't need to fill in what this actually means for Xander. The mob never takes it well when someone goes against them. Sure, Gillian just refused to move to another state, but Donatello could see that as defying him. She didn't just break up with him. She's on the run.

"Anyway, back on the subject of my bucket list…" she trails off before lighting the joint between her fingers. "The third one is getting a guy to fuck me by pretending to be you, my sweet sister."

I'm sure my eyes bug out of my head from the shock of what she just said. She knows how insane that is, right?

"But…that's…that's…" I try to speak again and again, but I'm at a loss for words.

"What? Immoral? Don't get on your high horse now, Laurie. You guys want me to do it." She rolls her eyes.

"It's illegal, Gillian! To have that on your bucket list, you could go to jail." My head spins from the panic. Sure, it's disturbing but my biggest worry is for her safety.

"Sure, but doesn't that just make it even more perfect for these circumstances?"

My mouth slams shut at her rebuttal. She's right. It's poetic justice at best. After everything Dennis has done, it's like giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"What are you talking about? Why would that be illegal?" Xander pipes in.

Gillian's eyebrow arches with intrigue as she stares at him, contemplating her words with a fine tooth comb. "It's rape."

Xander's body goes rigid, but then a stiff laugh falls from his lips as he shakes his head side to side. "Funny. No, it's not."

My sister sends him a smile that I can't tell if it's flirtatious or just devious. The two looks are very similar. "That club has screwed up your views on rape. It's defined as non-consensual sexual contact. Here's an example so you can understand. Say you consent to have sex with me. I walk out of the room and my sister comes in. She doesn't tell you she's not me and you two have sex whilst you think she is me. That's rape because in that situation, you would've consented to me, not my sister. You didn't consent to her because you had no idea we weren't the same person."

I watch Xander's reaction but his face gives nothing away. He's as stoic as ever.

"Well, we have a lot of work to do if we're going to be ready for a sister swap in the next couple hours. Let's get started." Gillian jumps to her feet like it isn't two in the morning and she has all the energy in the world.

CHAPTER16

LAURA

Xander holds me in his arms as I listen to the sound of the sink running in the kitchen.

Apparently, the pink in my sister’s hair is only the result of a color shampoo and it will wash out, but it's taken her at least half an hour and she's still going.

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